Liquid delivery device in which liquid is drawn into an air current by suction



Oct. 12, 1954 c. J. MANVILLE 2,691,510

LIQUID DELIVERY DEVICE IN WHICH LIQUID Is DRAwN INT0 AN AIR CURRENT BY suCIIoN Filed June 1, 1953 [lill l INVENToR. I ,Z Uff/WM5 JN0/WMM.

Patented ct. 12, 19.5.4`

LIQUID DELIVERY DEVICE IN WHICH LIQUID IS DRAWN IN TO AN AIR CUR- RENT BY SUCTION Charles J. Manville, Pontiac, Mich., assignor to Manville Manufacturing Corporation, Pontiac,

Mich., a corporation Application June 1, 1953, Serial No. 358,923

1 Claim.' (Cl. 261-78) This invention relates to a liquid delivery device comprising in general an open top one piece liquid container in which there is removably and slidably received a liquid deliverytube. The device of this invention is particularly adaptable for use in connection with a dish washing apparatus of the character shown and disclosed in my Patent No. 2,652,850, issued September 22, 1953, entitled Back Flow Preventing Unit For Dishwashing Apparatus.

Liquid delivery devices of the general character of this invention have been heretofore employed in various capacities wherein it is desired to withdraw liquid from the container by suction in a materially reduced quantity as in a lubricant device for internal combustion engines, and particularly for introducing a minute quantity of liquid detergent into the water stream of a dish washing apparatus of the character disclosed in the copending application to which reference herein is specically directed.

In such devices there is generally a sealing cap for the container in which the suction tube is a fixed and permanent part, as in a lubricating device, or wherein the container is open at the top, but with the tube extending through one wall thereof, as in the above-mentioned application. In all such devices, in operation one end of the tube is open to the atmosphere above the level of the liquid while the other end of the tube is connected by a suction conduit to a source of partial vacuum. The lower portion of the tube adjacent the body of the container and wall within the liquid is provided with a small intake aperture so that the major portion of the suction is accommodated by the air entering the upper end of the tube and the minor portion by a stream of liquid induced by the air flow through the small aperture at the bottom of the tube.

It is the purpose of this invention to simplify such devices while rendering them equally effective, and particularly wherein it is desirable to employ a one piece molded plastic container having no tube supporting top or cap and no openings in the Walls. This is accomplished by forming an open top one piece plastic container with a pair of opposed and aligned vertical grooves in opposite walls for slidably receiving and retaining in proper position a yielding U-shaped tube under its inherent spring tension. One leg of the U-shaped tube seating in one groove terminates in an open end adjacent the upper edge of the container, the other leg seating in the opposite groove and extending over the upper edge of the container for connection with a suction conduit.

2 The intermediate curved portion of the U-shaped tube lies adjacent the bottom of the container with its top surface provided with a minute liquid intake aperture.

By reason of this structure the entire device consists of only two parts with no closure fittings or holes in the walls,fnamely, a one pice open top container into which a liquid delivery tube may be readily inserted or Withdrawn for container cleansing.

The full nature of the invention will be understood from the accompanying drawings and the following description and claim:

Fig. 1 is a perspective View of the container with the tube removed, and comprising one unit of the device.

Fig. 2 is a side elevation of the U-shaped delivery tube in its uncompressed or expanded position shown in full lines and adapted to be compressed under its inherent spring tension to the position shown in dotted lines.

Fig. 3 is a transverse section through the container and tube slidably mounted therein.

Fig. 4. is a plan view of the lcontainer with the tube mounted therein.

In the drawings there is shown a 'one piece cast or moulded liquid container having a bottom I0, end walls Il and side walls l2. Said container may be of any material, but preferably moulded or cast of plastic. One side wall l2 is formed with a pair of bracket members I3 formed therein for providing a support by which the container may be mounted in operative position. lnteriorly of the container a pair of opposed walls are formed with aligned vertical grooves lll. There may be additional grooves at difierent locations in the container for selective positioning of the tube as indicated at M. Said container may be filled with the liquid to be delivered, such as a liquid detergent to be drawn by suction therefrom as more particularly set forth and described in the above-mentioned application for Letters Patent.

The second unit of the device consists of a LJ- shaped yieldable tube having opposed leg members l5 and I6 joined by an intermediate curved bottom portion ll. Said tube is preferably made of slightly sprin-gy material, such as copper so that the leg members may be forced into parallel relation as indicated by dotted lines in Fig. 2, to exert an outward pressure under their inherent spring tension. The leg member l5 is open to the atmosphere while the leg member I6 terminates in a reverse bend indicated at i8 to provide an overhanging delivery end for connection with a flexible suction tube I9. The curved bottom portion I'I is provided with a minute intake aperture 2li.

In assembly, the U-shaped tube is slidably inserted downwardly into the container with the legs I5 and. I6 being positioned and guided within the grooves I4. Due tothe inherent spring tension when forced into the container, the leg members assume the position shown in dotted lines in Fig. 2, and thereby exert sufficient fric,- tion within the grooves of the containerr to, maintain the tube in its properly seated position. 'The overhanging delivery end I8 of the tube may be slidably connected with the flexible. suction tube I9. level indicated at 2 I with a liquid detergent which is drawn through the aperture 2li-of thedeliveryv tube along with a quantity of air drawn through the open exposed end of the leg member I5.

The suction for drawing the air and liquid into the tube is created by. a partial vacuum developed in the `suction tube. i9 by means of a manually and selectively controlled venturi positioned in a stream of water under pressure, all as more. particularly set forth andy described in said application. Since it is desirable to. periodically clean the container and tube4 to remove sediment or coagulated detergent, it is very simple due to the. structure. of this device, to. slide the, U- shaped tube from the container so that they can be conveniently cleaned independently of each other and readily reassembled.

The invention claimed is:

The container may then be iilledto the A liquid delivery device comprising a one piece liquid container open at the top and having bottom and side Walls, said container being provided with a pair of vertical grooves in the inner surface of opposite walls and in opposed alignment, a yielding ll-shaped tube having op- DQSed leg members seatablein said grooves re spectively under inherent spring tension and slidable into supporting engagement therewith, the intermediate bottom portion of said tube lying adjacent the, bottom of the container, one end of said tube being open to the atmosphere substantially at the upper edge of one wall of the container and the other end extending over the upper` edge of the opposed wall and curved downwardly therefrom to provide an overhanging delivery. and for connection with a suction conduit, and a restricted liquid inlet opening in the intermediate bottom portion of the U-shaped tube to lie adjacent theA bottom of the container and b Svubmelge'd. in liquid ntill@ tlllremf References Cited in the file of this. patent UNITED STATES PATENTS,

Number Name Date 21,202,079 Ayres May- 2,8, 194() 2,381,475l Urquart Aug. 7:, 1945 2,609,971 Vivolo Sept. 9,l 1952 FOREIGN PATENTS Number Country DateV 406,388 Great Britain Mar. 1, 193.4 

